


lionblood (flowin' through my veins)

by priorwalter



Series: morbid stuff [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Found Family, M/M, Supernatural Elements, spooky vibes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 07:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/priorwalter/pseuds/priorwalter
Summary: Kevin had been wondering why he was the only passenger on the Greyhound bus getting off in Palmetto, but one glance at the tiny downtown told him everything he needed to know. While most of the buildings were old in a way that might be described as charming, some were crumbling, dilapidated, and looked like they violated several health and safety rules. Names on the small, quaint shops were written in an old-timey scripts, faded from time and exposure.Trees with dry yellow and orange leaves lined the main street. The air was crisp and wind bit at Kevin’s skin, making him shiver as he inspected his surroundings. September seemed a little too early for autumn to set in, but he wouldn’t have noticed the weather if not for how the chill made his injured hand ache. He supposed he should be grateful that, for now, aches in his hand were all he had to worry about. If not for the pain meds prescribed to him after his surgery, he would have been writhing on the sidewalk in agony.☾Kevin Day arrives in the perpetually autumnal town of Palmetto. He finds his father, new friends, peace and quiet, and Neil Josten.





	lionblood (flowin' through my veins)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Lionheart by PUP. 
> 
> This fic is for Kev, my best friend whose birthday is today and who I love very much, and who also happens to be the biggest Kevineil stan possibly on the planet. I hope you like what I've done with Kevin, he is not easy to write. Anyway! Enjoy!
> 
> (Note: not edited, because I’m lazy. Please forgive any spelling errors.)
> 
> EDIT: series title from Morbid Stuff by PUP, the song or the album, take your pick.

Kevin had been wondering why he was the only passenger on the Greyhound bus getting off in Palmetto, but one glance at the tiny downtown told him everything he needed to know. While most of the buildings were old in a way that might be described as charming, some were crumbling, dilapidated, and looked like they violated several health and safety rules. Names on the small, quaint shops were written in an old-timey scripts, faded from time and exposure. 

Trees with dry yellow and orange leaves lined the main street. The air was crisp and wind bit at Kevin’s skin, making him shiver as he inspected his surroundings. September seemed a little too early for autumn to set in, but he wouldn’t have noticed the weather if not for how the chill made his injured hand ache. He supposed he should be grateful that, for now, aches in his hand were all he had to worry about. If not for the pain meds prescribed to him after his surgery, he would have been writhing on the sidewalk in agony. 

It still didn’t feel real that Riko shattered his hand just days ago. It felt even less real that he was in Palmetto without Riko at his side. He felt at once desperately lonely and frighteningly liberated. Loneliness was both familiar and strange, while freedom was something completely new. Kevin did not know how to process it. He did not know what to do now that he had run away from everything he had ever known. 

That was what led him to Palmetto in the first place. When Riko broke Kevin’s hand, he decided that he had to leave once and for all, but the only person who might help him was his father. His father, whose identity Kevin only knew because his mother left his name and address in a letter that Kevin read over and over again for years. His father, David Wymack, who did not know he had a son and who lived in a town that Kevin could not find on a map for many years. He did not question why Palmetto suddenly appeared on Google Maps when there had been no results every other time he searched it before Riko broke his hand. Though at any other time, he would have been interested in why the town simply appeared, but he was in too much pain to focus on it, more intent on where it was and how quickly he could get there. 

Knocking on his father’s door seemed like an easy task when he got on the Greyhound, but now that he actually needed to do it, he felt overcome with anxiety. He had the route to his father’s house from the bus stop he was still standing at memorized, but his legs felt suddenly leaden.

“Hey, stranger,” a voice suddenly said. “What brings you to Palmetto?” 

Kevin turned to the source of the voice and found a short woman with short brown hair and warm eyes. Something about the woman made Kevin feel immediately calmer, though that might have been the pain meds kicking in a few minutes too late. “I’m looking for my father, David Wymack,” Kevin answered, and then wondered why he said that. Though there was no reason to be secretive in a minute town where no-one knew him in the middle of nowhere, he still felt vulnerable revealing something that had until recently been one of his most closely-guarded secrets.

The woman’s gaze turned calculating, though Kevin felt no less comforted by her presence despite her change in demeanor. “Wymack?” She echoed. Kevin nodded. “Hmm. Come with me.” 

“I know where to go,” Kevin protested, but the woman shook her head and gestured for him to follow her. 

They arrived at what looked to be a recently-built apartment building, though the ivy crawling up the walls juxtaposed with the modernity. The woman pushed the front door open and buzzed an apartment. Wymack’s name was the only one listed. They were let into the building, and the woman said, “I’m Danielle Wilds. You can call me Dan.”

“Kevin Day,” Kevin replied. Despite the strangeness of the situation, he was oddly most relieved that she didn’t stick her hand out for him to shake. The chance that he would have to bring her attention to his broken hand was too high. He suspected he might have simply burst into tears. 

“Why was no one else’s name at the front?” Kevin asked curiously. He couldn’t hear any sounds from the surrounding apartments as they walked through the halls. 

Dan looked back at him, and for the first time the look she gave him unsettled him. “He’s the only one that lives here,” she explained, and didn’t elaborate. 

They climbed the stairs (“The elevator is always out of order,” Dan explained exasperatedly) to the seventh floor, where Dan led Kevin to Wymack’s apartment. The door opened, revealing a gruff-looking man with tribal tattoos on his arms and a shocked expression on his face.

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Dan said tersely, giving Wymack a two-fingered salute. He waved after her as she left and invited Kevin inside. The apartment looked run-down and messy. It couldn’t have been updated since the seventies and there were papers scattered over every surface. There was orange and white-patterned wallpaper cracked in places lining the walls and cobwebs in the corners. In spite of this, it looked well-loved and charming, somehow. 

“What brings Kevin Day all the way to Palmetto?” Wymack asked with a knowing grin as he led Kevin to his living room. Wymack likely knew who he was because Kevin and his adopted brother Riko were famous in their field of research: the supernatural. Their family (Riko’s family, not his, Kevin kept trying to remind himself) paraded as researchers, but they had darker intentions of harnessing the power they found for their own use. Kevin recognized Wymack’s name in his mother’s letter for similar reasons: Wymack used to be Kayleigh Day’s partner in crime, before she started running with the Moriyamas. More recently, Wymack became well known for dropping off the face of the Earth. He was the head of Palmetto State University’s parapsychology department, but suddenly disappeared one day with no trace. Kevin had always trusted that the address his mother gave him was correct, though; since both the address and Wymack were inexplicably missing, Kevin figured they’d be in the same place, and his instincts had been correct.

Kevin swallowed and fished an old and worn piece of paper from his bag. “I have a letter from my mother I think you should read.”

☾

After a long and awkward conversation with his biological father, Kevin left the apartment with instructions to find 621 Foxhole Drive, the home of Abby Winfield. She was the town’s only doctor and habitually took in strays with Wymack. This was partially due to the fact that Palmetto did not have any kind of inn, motel, or even a bed and breakfast; Wymack said that this was because not enough people came into town to warrant one.

Palmetto was small enough that finding his way around town was no challenge, but he felt uneasy walking around alone. It appeared that the whole town was as old and crumbling as the main drag he saw when he got off the bus. He swore he saw a singular sharp blue eye peeking out at him from the other side of a foggy window, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched until Abby let him inside. 

“David told me you were coming. Follow me, I’ll show you to the spare room. You can stay here for as long as you need,” Abby assured him. Her long brown hair streaked with white was tied up in a severe bun, but a few strands escaped, framing her friendly faced. Her eyes were a startling silver; not gray or blue, but silver. 

Once Kevin settled into the guest room, he emerged to find Abby making tea. “What kind do you like?” She asked.

“Do you have any coffee?” 

Abby shook her head. “I used to drink it, but Neil — you’ll meet him soon enough — used to make tea every time he came around, and I adopted the habit. Now I prefer it. I’ll make sure to buy some for you next time I’m out. Now, let me take a look at that hand.” 

As Abby inspected the damage, she asked, “What led you to David? I can certainly see what brought you to Palmetto, but you seemed to be set on him.” 

“What do you mean, you can see what brought me to Palmetto?” Kevin demanded. 

Abby shrugged. “We attract a certain sort of people.” He waited for her to explain in further detail, but she didn’t.

  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kevin was mostly offended by what seemed to be a slight on his character, but Abby’s statement, mixed with Dan’s strange aura and the general creepiness (and emptiness) of the town as a whole made him deeply curious. 

Abby shrugged and patted his hand gently. “You’ll find out soon enough.” Her hands felt impossibly warm; not hot, but warm, as if a gentle sort of heat was seeping into his bones. 

“Wymack is my father,” Kevin blurted out. “I wanted to meet him.” 

Kevin expected Abby to ask why he was only coming now, but all she did was hum and say, “I’m sure that was sufficiently awkward for you, knowing David, but I’m glad you tracked him down. You’re staying a while, right? It would be dreadful for you to leave so soon after that.” 

“I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me,” Kevin said, not knowing until that instant that he meant it.

Abby smiled knowingly. Her grin was strangely toothy, and her gray eyes were disconcerting. “Palmetto’s glad to have you.” 

Her words were genuine, despite the fact that the rest of her bearing was unnerving, so Kevin decided to trust her. He wondered what caused her change in demeanor. He was already curious about the seemingly endless oddities of Palmetto, and he wanted to ask Abby about both, but she gave his injured hand another gentle touch and he suddenly felt very, very sleepy.

☾

Kevin awoke in the bed in Abby’s spare room. If he thought about it hard enough, he might realize that he didn’t quite remember walking to the room, but it didn’t seem important. He heard voices from down the hall and pulled himself out of bed. His sleep had been dreamless and his hand was surprisingly alright. It didn’t hurt as much as it usually did after waking up, at least, though that wasn’t saying much. 

He followed the voices to find Abby sitting at her dining room table with two men, both incredibly short. One had shiny blond hair and dressed in all black. His ears were pointed and something about his expressionless face made Kevin want to run and hide. He appeared to only have one eye. 

The other man was slightly taller. His hair was a shade of red Kevin was sure didn’t exist. His left cheekbone was covered in grotesque burn scars, and his left eye was hazel (the same colour as the blond man’s singular eye) while the right eye was icy blue. The eyelid on his darker eye drooped a little. A nasty-looking scar snaked across his throat, and faint white lines that could have only come from a deliberate knife crisscrossed the right side of his face, one cutting a notch into his eyebrow. He appeared to be wearing several layers of clothing. He sat curled around himself, a little closer to the blond than Kevin would have expected. 

“Kevin, this is Andrew and Neil,” Abby said, gesturing toward them. She gave the two men a pointed look, but when they stayed silent, she sighed. “They’re not very polite, but you’ll see them around here a lot if you stick around, unfortunately.” 

Neil shifted his gaze so his piercing eyes met Kevin’s. He said nothing for a few moments, as if waiting for Kevin to say something. “Welcome to Palmetto, Kevin,” he finally said in a droning voice and astonishingly, a British accent. He didn’t look away, and eventually Kevin broke eye contact, but he found that he couldn’t remember the exact shade of the strange, irrational colour of Neil’s red hair when he wasn’t looking at it. When he looked back, Neil was exchanging a glance with Andrew, who then turned to give Kevin a critical once-over. Neither spoke for several long seconds before Neil said cheerfully, “Tea?”

Kevin shook his head. “He’s a coffee drinker,” Abby explained conspiratorially. Neil tutted. 

“You’ll grow out of that,” Neil declared with enough confidence Kevin believed it before realizing how ridiculous that was. There was something off about Neil’s gait as he puttered around the kitchen, though Kevin couldn’t put his finger on what exactly it was. (It was probably the hundredth time Kevin found something or someone _ off _ without being able to pinpoint why despite only being in Palmetto for a few hours. He couldn’t wait to study the town.)

Neil and Abby chattered about something or other while the kettle whistled. Kevin couldn’t be bothered to listen. He noticed Andrew staring at him with a critical eye, but he was too tired to do more than glare at him. When the tea was ready, Neil and Abby returned. Once again, Neil sat strangely close to Andrew. 

“Why are you here?” Andrew asked. Kevin noticed that his fist was curled in the loose sleeve of Neil’s sweater. 

“Andrew,” Neil muttered, but cocked his head at Kevin.

“You don’t have to tell them,” Abby assured him. “Andrew’s just a little overprotective.” 

“Why do I make him want to protect whoever?” Kevin mumbled, mostly to himself. He did have a specific reason for coming to town, but Andrew and Neil shouldn’t know that.

“Whoever?” Abby asked, grinning. 

“Whatever,” Kevin snapped.

“You’re Kevin Day. Why aren’t you in Evermore? You should be,” Andrew cut in with a look of cruel indifference. He and Neil shared a look, like they knew more than they were letting on. 

“What are you talking about?”

“Everyone has a reason for coming to Palmetto,” Neil said. “Everyone finds their way here once they realize they need it.” 

“Why would you need a town?” Kevin demanded. He took out his phone, hoping to record the first explanation of the strangeness of Palmetto, but it was dead. That wasn’t unusual; electronics often malfunctioned in paranormal places. He usually carried a real recording device on him, but it was buried at the bottom of his bag which was in Abby’s room, and he felt compelled to stay in Neil’s presence. 

“You’re here because something bad happened, and you needed to escape,” Neil said bluntly. “That’s why I’m here and Andrew and Abby and Wymack and everyone. It’s just how it works.” 

“So why did you come running with your tail between your legs?” Andrew asked, weirdly in sync with Neil. This was said with a significant glance at Kevin’s injured hand. 

“What the fuck?” Kevin stood up and stormed off without another word. They had no right to ask about his hand. How did they even know it was his family — no, the people at Evermore who did it? Behind him, Neil called out, “You’ll have to face your ghosts sooner rather than later!” 

  
  
  
  


After the scene with Neil and Andrew, Kevin fell asleep pretty quickly, mostly thanks to the painkillers. Pill-aided sleep was usually dreamless, but he awoke with a shout in his throat and his hand screaming in pain from thrashing around. His chest rose and fell rapidly and he felt his pulse hammering in his throat. 

He had dreamt of his flight from Evermore. At first, the dream echoed what actually happened: he boarded the bus in the dead of night with a duffel bag full of clothes and a backpack full of books. The dream veered away from reality when Kevin fell asleep on the bus and woke up with Riko beside him. Before Kevin could so much as scream, Riko took Kevin’s uninjured hand and crushed it in his grip, so hard he felt the bones shatter. Riko asked Kevin to come back to Evermore. 

The worst part of the dream was that Kevin did go back without complaint. Tetsuji wasn’t happy about Kevin’s second broken hand, but it wasn’t Riko he blamed. Jean was waiting for him after Tetsuji punished him appropriately, with an expression on his face so unsurprised Kevin was taken aback.

Things got fuzzy after that, and Kevin was glad he couldn’t remember it all.

He needed a drink. 

☾

After drinking half of Abby’s vodka stash and falling back asleep, Kevin awoke to Riko Moriyama sitting on the end of his bed. 

“Riko?” Kevin asked quietly. His voice wobbled. His hand throbbed and his head pounded. “What are you doing here?”

“I should be the one asking you that, Kevin,” Riko retorted. His hands curled into fists, and Kevin suppressed a flinch at the sickeningly familiar sight. “Did you really think running off to daddy was a good idea? You can’t stay away forever.” 

Kevin felt nauseated. How he hated Riko, and how badly he wanted to return in spite of that. “Riko,” Kevin said almost inaudibly, unable to say anything else. He backed into the wall behind him. 

There was a knock at the door. “Kevin? Is everything alright?” When Kevin didn’t reply, the door cracked open to reveal Abby. She looked at Riko, and at once he flickered out of existence as if he were a mere mirage. 

Before he knew what was happening, Kevin began hyperventilating. What the fuck was Riko doing in Palmetto? And if it wasn’t him, why was Kevin imagining him? Had Abby drugged him? It couldn’t be a ghost, seeing as Riko was still alive. Maybe Andrew drugged him; it seemed more likely. Or maybe Kevin was still drunk.

Eventually, his breathing evened out, and Abby sat beside him on the bed. “What the fuck was that?” Kevin demanded, certain she would know. If she lived in Palmetto, she must have been familiar with the town’s strange goings-on. 

“That was Riko Moriyama, right? Your brother?” Abby asked gently. Something in her eyes was pitiful. Kevin looked away in disgust. 

“Yes. Why was he here?” Barely-controlled anger sharpened his voice, but it felt like a farce; underneath, his heart was still thundering and he felt like he might pass out at any second. 

Abby sighed heavily. “Here in Palmetto, people’s ghosts can become real. That’s what’s happening to you.”

“What do you mean by people’s ghosts?” Kevin pressed. 

“Things that haunt them. Past lovers, past abusers, bad decisions… they’re harder to ignore here. You have to overcome them.”

“Overcome them?” Kevin echoed. He knew a lot about the paranormal, but Abby made it out to seem like he had to get over his past, which was enough to send him packing. 

Abby seemed to sense that, and she assured him, “We’re a community here in town. You’re not alone anymore. Just stick around for a while and it won’t be as hard as you think.” Kevin scoffed. Riko shattered his entire hand just days ago. How did Abby think he was supposed to ‘conquer his ghosts’? He wondered if she would care if he drank the rest of her alcohol. Abby just frowned and added, “Dan was looking for you, she said you’ve met? She wanted to get you dinner to welcome you.” She sniffed. “You might want to freshen up first.” 

Kevin didn’t care enough about Abby or himself to be embarrassed. Abby left, and he showered and got dressed to find Dan and a tall man who seemed to be her boyfriend waiting in the living room. At his confused look, Abby explained affectionately, “These hooligans like to show up at my house unannounced. I have a ‘door is always open’ policy, so you’ll be seeing a lot of everyone around here.”

Kevin looked out the window. It was getting late in the evening now, and it was uncharacteristically dark for the time of year. “So? Do you feel up for dinner?” Dan asked, following Kevin’s gaze outside. 

“It’s on us,” Matt promised.

“Fine,” Kevin agreed. Matt and Dan exchanged a skeptical look, but Kevin ignored it. Instead of driving, Matt, Dan, and Kevin walked to a diner only a few minutes away from Abby’s house. It was quaint and warm, save for the flickering lights. They ordered, and Matt and Dan made small talk until Kevin asked, “What’s up with Andrew and Neil?” 

Matt asked, “What _ isn’t _ up with them?” At the same time that Dan said, “You’re going to have to be more specific.

“Why are they so close?” 

Matt frowned. “They could be dating. Why would that be weird?”

Kevin cocked his head. “I don’t think they are.” 

“They’re best friends,” Dan explained, glancing at her boyfriend. “They’ve been through a lot together, they’re really protective of each other. You’ll never catch either of them without the other.” 

“Oh,” Kevin replied. Oh. 

The waiter came with Matt and Dan’s food, but when he looked at Kevin, his face morphed into Jean’s. “Did I forget something?” He asked, a bitter frown on his lips. “Whoops.” He seemed to turn back to normal and left without another word. 

Matt frowned sympathetically at him. “We all had to go through that when we first came to Palmetto. You’ll get there.” 

“What the fuck,” Kevin spat, glaring. Matt didn’t know him at all; he didn’t know who Kevin saw or why. The assumption that Matt knew what he was going through grated on him. Mostly, though, Kevin felt scraped raw from seeing Jean’s face and hearing the contempt in his familiar voice.

“You’ll accept it sooner or later,” Dan promised him with a sympathetic look. “It’s what Palmetto does to us in return for protection.”

“Protection?” Kevin demanded. “How does the town protect you, and how does it take from you? What did it do to _ you _?” 

Matt’s easy smile twitched with annoyance before resuming. “No one gets in here that shouldn’t. Palmetto doesn’t show up on the map unless you really need to find it.” He looked down at Kevin’s hand, then back up at his face. “I’m surprised Wymack didn’t give you the whole spiel.” 

Kevin shrugged. “We had other things to talk about. How does the town know that someone needs it?” 

“Does it matter? It’s just how it works. Palmetto brings in strays and rehabilitates them,” Dan replied, giving Kevin a critical eye. “I’m surprised you’re not more interested in how to get rid of your ghosts.” 

“I have more important things to worry about,” Kevin said. He suddenly felt exhausted and wanted to go back to his room at Abby’s. He was tired of making conversation with Dan and Matt and his hand ached and his heart hadn’t quite stopped pounding since seeing Jean’s face on the waiter. The talk of Wymack, too, stressed him out; what was Kevin supposed to do with a father now that he had one? Wymack was a stranger, just like everyone else in Palmetto. He wondered if he had made a mistake by coming here.

The rest of the dinner passed in awkward silence interspersed with stilted small talk, though Kevin couldn’t bring himself to care. His mind was running at a million miles an hour, swinging wildly between panicking about his ‘ghosts’ or whatever the fuck they were, planning an escape from Palmetto, and getting the hell out of the rickety diner. Finally, Matt and Dan bid him goodbye, and Kevin walked back to Abby’s alone. He collapsed into bed, intending to sleep, but he lay awake until the small hours of the morning. 

☾

It hadn’t quite set in yet. Freedom, that is. Kevin spent most of the night thinking about what Matt said about Palmetto providing protection for its denizens. It wouldn’t surprise him, but he wanted to ask someone about it in further detail. Partly out of academic curiosity and mostly because he wanted to know whether or not it was possible for Riko to find him here. 

Kevin woke up at eleven in the morning, and there was nothing for him to do. He was used to a rigid schedule with no room for spare time. He almost missed it; in Evermore, his days were spent researching the paranormal. Here, he didn’t have any resources or even a workspace. 

In the kitchen, there was a note from Abby reading, _ Gone to work, help yourself to anything you need! xx Abby. _He found some cereal in the cupboard, but it was still sealed and he didn’t feel up to trying to opening it one-handed. He opened the fridge to find something to drink for breakfast, but he spotted a figure in his peripheral and whipped around to face them. The movement jostled his sling painfully, but it was nothing in comparison to what he felt at seeing the Master’s face in Abby’s kitchen.

Tetsuji disappeared within seconds, but Kevin slid down to the ground. His chest felt impossibly tight. He hated how the mere sight of the Master broke him into pieces, and he put in a valiant effort to hate Tetsuji himself. 

He wasn’t sure how long he sat on the cold kitchen floor. When someone opened the door to the house and he jerked into awareness, he realized that his legs ached with stiffness and his hand hurt so badly the slightest movement sent an unbearable jolt of pain up his arm.

“Hey, buddy. You look comfy,” a voice greeted him. Kevin looked up to find Andrew, Neil and someone he didn’t recognize. The stranger was the source of the voice. 

“This is Nicky,” Neil explained. Kevin was distracted by Neil’s clothes; he was wearing a jacket over a sweater over another sweater. It was certainly colder in Palmetto than September called for, but it wasn’t winter.

Kevin frowned. “Hi.” 

“You’re coming out with us today,” Neil informs him. “Get up.”

“Where? What if I don’t want to?” Kevin retorted. 

“You’re coming with us to Renee’s shop for tea,” Neil snapped. “If that’s good enough for you, Your Majesty.”

Kevin looked between Neil, Andrew, and Nicky before standing up on his stiff legs. “Let me get dressed.” 

Nicky winked over-exaggeratedly and said, “Do you need any help with that?”

Kevin frowned. “No,” he said, and left. He knew what Nicky meant, but he didn’t feel like dealing with a reaction. He heard Nicky say, “Maybe he’s like you, Neil,” before he disappeared into his room. 

Button up shirts were out of the question with Kevin’s shattered hand, but wrangling t-shirts on with one hand while avoiding jostling said hand was an impossible feat. He supposed that was why, when he opened his door (quietly, always quietly; you never know who might hear), he heard Nicky’s far-away voice say, “He’s more fucked up than I thought.” 

“This is Palmetto,” Neil replied drily. “What did you expect?” 

“Let’s go,” Kevin interrupted. Nicky had the grace to look ashamed, but Neil gave him an assessing look that would feel like a once-over were it on anyone else’s face.

Renee’s shop, apparently, was a cafe, and luckily, they had coffee. Neil gave him a sour look when he turned down Renee’s offer of tea. The cafe was strangely warm, but Neil didn’t remove any of his layers. He met Kevin’s gaze when he found him staring, but his hazel eye was a split second slower than the blue one. “Why are you so cold all the time?” Kevin asked. Riko used to rib him for being unobservant, but you couldn’t study the paranormal without an eye for detail. 

“Wow, Sherlock, you must be proud of yourself for that one,” Andrew said flatly. 

“Leave it,” Neil muttered. His irritated voice was contradicted by an inexplicable fond quirk to his lips. Kevin remembered Dan’s words: _ They’re best friends. They’ve been through a lot together, they’re really protective of each other. You’ll never catch either of them without the other. _ “I’ve run on the cold side ever since they put me back together,” he explained, as if that made any sense.

Kevin opened his mouth to ask what Neil meant by that, but Andrew said, “No more questions.” His tone left no room for argument, but Kevin argued anyway. 

“What happened to you? It’s why you’re here, right?”

Nicky tittered nervously. Neil looked over at Andrew for a moment and said, “I figure they didn’t raise you right in Evermore, so maybe it’s not your fault, but Jesus, what terrible manners.” 

Kevin scoffed. “Whatever.” 

“Oh, look, our tea’s here,” Nicky cut in. Renee brought a tray over to their table and greeted her friends before introducing herself to Kevin.

“Hello, Kevin, I’ve heard all about you. My name is Renee, and this is my shop. You’re welcome here any time.” She was so genuine it was painful. The cross on her neck glinted in the light. Her smile was off-putting, but not for any supernatural reasons; she was just impossibly kind-looking, which was incredibly unsettling.

“Hi,” Kevin replied awkwardly. He noticed there was an old burn scar on her chest directly beneath where her cross pendant rested. Was Renee herself some kind of non-human? Before Palmetto, Kevin had dealt almost exclusively in the paranormal: ghosts and spirits, clairvoyance, telekinesis, as well as some cryptozoology. Though Riko professed to have met some, Kevin had long pondered the existence of beings like vampires and faeries; while ancient texts made a precedent for them, he went so long without seeing evidence for any of those creatures that he was almost certain they were nonexistent in modern times. Now, though, he was convinced of the opposite. He just needed to find out what Renee (and Neil and his strange eyes and Dan and her strange aura) _ was. _

“So, how long are you planning on staying in town?” Nicky asked once Renee returned to her post in a valiant attempt to rescue the conversation.

Kevin shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t exactly plan on coming.” 

Nicky nodded as if he could relate. “No one ever does, not around here. Anyway, how are you liking it? Who have you met?” 

Kevin chose to ignore the first question because it made him uncomfortable. He _ did _like Palmetto, and he didn’t know why. “Wymack, Abby, Matt, and Dan. You.” 

Nicky grinned. “You have to meet my boyfriend, Erik. He’s much nicer these charmers.” When Kevin didn’t respond promptly, Nicky pushed forward. Kevin mostly tuned him out, instead studying his coffee. He felt raw and exposed without the thin veneer of conversation to keep him from being alone with his thoughts. A painful tangle of emotions and memories boiling just below the surface began to bubble up. His hand hurt and he missed Jean and he hated and ached for the familiarity of Evermore Academy. It all felt like too much.

“Oh, and Allison’s having everyone over on Saturday, stay in your fucking place, you worthless deadweight,” Nicky was saying, voice transforming into something dark and foreign on the last few words. Kevin felt himself blanch. “Oh, fuck, that wasn’t me. I’m so sorry, Kevin, I swear I didn’t mean to say that.” 

Kevin didn’t deign to reply; he slammed his coffee down on the table and left without a word. He didn’t want his trauma exposed to the fucking world; he wanted to get out of this goddamn town. The way back to Abby’s was easy, but Kevin found himself walking to Wymack’s building instead, though he couldn’t figure out why. He trusted Abby more than Wymack, and any interactions with his biological father were guaranteed to be painfully awkward. They were essentially strangers, but he wanted someone to… he didn’t know what. He wanted to feel less alone. 

Kevin once again noticed how Wymack’s building was completely empty but for the man himself. He wondered if he would find an actual room if he opened one of the doors to the empty rooms. It didn’t seem implausible, what with everything else he knew about the town. Or maybe he was imagining it all, and he would only find a dusty, uninhabited apartment. 

“What can I do for you?” Wymack asked when he let Kevin in. He frowned at Kevin’s likely miserable expression and said, “Let me get you a drink.”

The atmosphere of the apartment was torturously tense. Kevin was not usually self-conscious, but he worried about everything down to what to do with his hands when Wymack scrutinized him as he handed him a glass of whisky. They talked about what happened when Kevin came to see him the day before, but he wasn’t sure what to do now that all of that was out in the open. No one had known about what happened in Evermore until Wymack. 

“Dan said you saw someone at the diner last night,” Wymack said in a voice reminiscent of someone trying to coax a wild animal out of hiding. 

“Why is it happening?” Kevin demanded. “Dan said this happened to everyone. For protection, or something. What does that mean?” A million questions sat on the tip of his tongue, but he waited for Wymack’s response. Riko never liked it when he had too many questions and no answers. 

Wymack sighed and sipped his drink. “Palmetto is a very old town. There are some old powers at play here. I don’t know exactly why it happens; no one does, not anymore. But the town offers us protection. No one gets in without my say-so; the town won’t even show up on the map unless it wants to. I’m sure you know how this kind of stuff works, though.”

“It needs something in return,” Kevin answers. He wishes the _ something _ wasn’t so painful. 

“Which is why you’re being haunted,” Wymack said. “That’s not what happens to everyone, but we’ve all been through it somehow. Think of it like being a test; it has to know you’re here to stay and worth its protection.” 

“It’s fucking annoying,” Kevin grumbled. He layed back on the couch, setting his now-empty glass aside. 

“Look, Kevin, I know it’s hard. You’ve had a bad lot in life. But…” he trailed off as if the words physically pained him to say. “I know we don’t know each other, but you’re my son, and…” he stopped again, looking at the ground. Abruptly, Wymack stood up. When he spoke again, his voice had changed; he sounded more severe. His face had changed to resemble Tetsuji, and Kevin heard the distant clicking of a cane on the hard ground. “You’re my son, but I wish you weren’t; you’re a burden on my family. Earn your place and maybe you’ll be worth the investment.” 

Kevin threw his good arm over his face, waiting for the blow, but when it never came he realized where he was. Wymack had backed up, standing well out of arm’s reach of Kevin, which he greatly appreciated. “I meant to say that you’re my son, and I know we barely know each other, but if you ever need anything, I’m here for you, kid.” 

Kevin closed his eyes. “Get me another drink.”

☾

“Hey, man, what’s up?” A man with frosted tips asked Kevin, shouting over the music. “I haven’t seen you here before, so you must be Kevin.”

Kevin had been in Palmetto for just under a week, and already he was at a party. It was at someone called Allison’s house, which was really more of a mansion. Allison herself was somewhere with Seth, or possibly her girlfriend Renee, but Kevin didn’t much care for her; he cared for the open bar. His first week in town had been miserable, as expected. Half of it was spent wallowing at Abby’s or blackout drunk and the other half was spent being dragged around town, meeting new people and seeing new places. It was exhausting. 

  
Kevin nodded at the man. “Who are you?”

Frosted Tips stuck his hand out. “Jeremy Knox, it’s nice to meet you.” 

Kevin tried to shake his hand, but Jeremy had put out his left hand which meant he couldn’t. Jeremy noticed that a second too late, but by then it was unbearably awkward and Kevin excused himself. He left the kitchen where the crowd was gathered and wandered upstairs. He found a balcony overlooking the expansive forest that surrounded the town, but when he opened the balcony doors, he realized there were already two people on it. 

“Hey, Kevin,” Neil said without turning around. Layers of clothing made his small frame look bulky. Andrew was smoking strangely close to Neil’s face. Huh. 

“You look cold,” Kevin said, mostly because he knew it would annoy Andrew because of their conversation in Renee’s shop. They had spoken a few times since then, but the short blond still seemed to be sore about Kevin’s prying. He was sore about something, at least.

Instead of Andrew, Neil turned around and grinned. “You want to warm me up?” Kevin froze; he didn’t know how to react to that, and everything about the situation made him uncomfortable. When Kevin didn’t react beyond stopping like a deer in the headlights, Neil’s expression fell flat. Andrew elbowed Neil and muttered, “Idiot,” before going back to smoking. 

“What do you want?” Neil asked after a few seconds of tense silence.

“I didn’t know you were out here.” A pause. “I can go.” 

Neil raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and said, “Whatever,” in a voice that made Kevin feel like he was being mocked. 

Since they didn’t expressly tell him to go, Kevin stood beside Neil where he leant on the railing. The sprawling forest was dyed different hues of orange and yellow, bright even under the darkening sky of the evening. It felt peaceful. Kevin realized that, since his arrival, he had not been truly afraid of Riko coming after him. He worried about it often enough, but there had never been a point where he was convinced he’d be stolen away, which was all he could think about on the Greyhound to Palmetto. It could be that Kevin was growing as a person, but he suspected it was mostly due to the protective nature of the town. 

His mind kept wandering back to Neil and his other-ness. There was something about his strange eyes, odd gait, and perpetual low temperature that was bothering him. The others were more obvious; Andrew and his pointy ears was obviously otherworldly. Kevin had met people like Dan and Jeremy who seemed to emanate emotions on those around them; it wasn’t as uncommon as one might think. But Neil was a mystery. His odd characteristics could be written off as coincidental, but there was something undeniably weird about him Kevin simply couldn’t ignore. He recalled what Neil said before: _ I’ve run on the cold side ever since they put me back together. _

He was interested in Neil. Interested in his secrets and his red hair and multicoloured eyes. He wanted to _ know _him.

That would never happen with Andrew around, though. 

“Spit it out,” Andrew hissed, turning to glare at Kevin. It was a genuine hiss; so animalistic he could barely tell what Andrew said. 

“What are you?” Kevin asked, turning to Neil, whose eyes met Kevin’s. 

“I’m Neil,” Neil replied. Andrew made a noise that might have been a laugh, but probably wasn’t.

“You know what I mean,” Kevin retorted. Why did he have to be so difficult? Kevin wasn’t trying to pry. It was a purely scientific curiosity. 

His face took on a teasing air. “I’m a young, hot, single looking for love.”

“Fuck off,” Kevin snapped. 

“If you’re so curious about me, why haven’t you come round to visit yet? Andrew and I are just down the street, you know,” Neil said sharply. “Now’s not the time.” 

“Why not?”

Neil sniffed the air and looked down at the drink in Kevin’s hand. “It’s just not. Now begone.”

Kevin listened; he went downstairs and searched for Jeremy, who was the only friendly face he could think of that wouldn’t make him nervous. He found him engrossed in a game of ping pong with Erik, but the thought of being invited to play ping pong and having to turn it down because of his hand was enough to make him walk away immediately. He felt a draft of air, and then someone was in front of him; he crashed into them, unable to stop when they were already so close. The stranger shoved his shoulder so hard Kevin fell to the ground, twisting just in time so his injured hand didn’t hit the ground. 

There was a _ clack _ on the ground, and Kevin recognized it immediately; Tetsuji’s cane. He curled around himself, waiting to be struck, but it never came. He opened his eyes and found Matt standing over him. He was saying something, but Kevin didn’t know what. He stood up and pushed through the crowd. Abby’s wasn’t a far walk from Allison’s, and he wanted to be alone. He took a bottle of vodka on the way out. 

☾

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Abby said fretfully when two days later, Kevin asked her for Neil’s address. 

“Why not?”

“Andrew doesn’t like people in his house. It’s probably best if they come here.” 

Kevin shook his head. “I’m going there. What’s the address?”

“Are you sure? If anything happens, neither of them will want to help you.” What Abby was referring to was Kevin’s ghosts; they were coming more often and now were in the habit of throwing him around. It was very unfortunate.

“I’m sure, just tell me their address.” Abby rattled it off and wished Kevin luck in his journey, which he felt was a little dramatic, but he bid her goodbye and told her he would be careful.

Andrew and Neil lived in a small, quaint cottage. It was adorable, save for the fact that the walls were pumpkin orange. Kevin liked it. He stood before the door and found that there was no doorbell, but instead an old-fashioned door knocker. He knocked and waited.

Neil opened the door, and it was then that Kevin realized he had been expecting Andrew to, though now he wasn’t sure why he assumed that. Neil wasn’t very personable himself, but Kevin could confidently say, after meeting Andrew not more than three or four times, that he was the most antisocial person on the planet. “Where’s your guard dog?” Kevin asked as he took in the inside of the cottage. It was similarly orange. There were very few decorations or personal effects. Kevin felt slightly unsafe, but he wasn’t sure why. 

“Out to get more cigarettes,” Neil replied. “And he’s not my guard dog.”

“He acts like it.” 

“He’s my friend. Not that you would know what that looks like.”

Kevin scoffed. “I don’t really care.” 

“You just want to know why I’m like this for your research, right? Well, I’m not a specimen for you to pick apart.” Neil turned away and busied himself with the kettle. “I’m making you tea and you have to drink it.” 

“I don’t want to put your skin in a petri dish,” Kevin said. “I just want to know.” 

Neil cocked his head. “Know what?”

“Everything!” Kevin burst out. “I want to know why Palmetto is so fucking weird, and what you meant by when you got put back together, and why I’m seeing the literal ghosts of my past and why the town protects us. Aren’t you curious? Don’t you care why? I mean, I want to study it all, don’t get me wrong, but knowing is enough. I just want to understand.” 

Neil finally turned to look at Kevin, but his eyes locked on something behind him; Kevin turned to see Andrew, who nodded in greeting. The acknowledgement made Kevin feel like he’d just been granted a Nobel Prize. He supposed that Andrew heard his speech, and he hoped the nod was his way of letting Kevin know he was accepted as not-a-threat, or whatever it was about him Andrew hadn’t liked before. Or still didn’t like. Kevin didn’t fucking know. 

“I used to do what you do. Before, I mean,” Neil said as he poured water into the kettle.

“What?”

“Study the paranormal. Before they put me back together.”

Kevin scowled. “Why did you stop?” It made no sense that Neil would lose interest.. 

Neil shrugged. “What’s the point of studying it now? I know what it’s like.”

“How?” Kevin pressed. “How exactly? What are you?” 

Andrew sat on the counter beside where Neil was making tea, and whispered something in his ear. Neil laughed. It was marvellous. “I’m dead,” Neil said. “Or I was. It doesn’t really matter.”

“It matters to me,” Kevin argued. “Please.” 

“We don’t use that word around here,” Neil said sharply. The atmosphere in the room had turned tense and dark.

“Okay. That doesn’t answer me.” 

“Fine,” Neil said finally, sighing. “Because you’re persistent. A while ago, I died, and they wanted to bring me back because Palmetto said it wasn’t my time to go. My leg was cut off, so they sewed on a new one, but Abby needed something alive and magic to make me really live again. My eye and cheek had been burned so badly Abby had to take the whole eye out anyway, so Andrew donated one of his, and here I stand.” 

“Is he a faerie? Andrew, are you one of the fae?” Kevin asked this because Neil said Andrew was magical, and the pointy ears narrowed things down significantly. 

“Fuck off,” Andrew said. 

If Andrew was a faerie, he would be unable to lie, which would make _ fuck off _ an appropriate answer for personal questions. 

“Okay, whatever. Is there a reason you’re always so cold, too?” Kevin asked. He itched for something to write all of this down on. 

Neil turned around balancing three mugs in his arms. “It comes with not technically being alive.”

Kevin inspected the tea Neil gave him. He was pretty sure it was green tea, but when he took a sip, it actually tasted good, which was a first. Neil watched as Kevin drank it with an amused smile on his face, likely smug about being right. Kevin noted how he clutched his mug to sap the warmth from it. 

When he finished his tea, Andrew told Kevin in a less polite way to go back home. Kevin did, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the encounter. His curiosity about Neil should have gone away now that he knew why the man was so strange, but it had only gotten stronger. 

He didn’t like that feeling, so he cracked open the bottle of vodka he swiped from Allison.

“I fear for your liver,” Abby said when she found Kevin in his room, two thirds through the bottle and wallowing in self-pity. 

“My liver has survived worse,” Kevin slurred. “Abby, I want to go home.”

Abby sighed and put her hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “This can be your home. Palmetto. You don’t ever have to leave if you don’t want to.” 

Kevin shook his head. “I miss him. I miss Riko. That’s sssso fucked up, Abby, I fucking hate it. I hate it I hate it I hate it. I want this to not be happening to me.”

“We’re all here for you, Kevin. You don’t have to down an entire bottle any time you feel anxious,” Abby said gently. “We want the best for you, but you have to make the first step.” 

“I broke my hand two fucking weeks ago, I don’t give a shit,” Kevin snapped. “Go away.”

Abby did, and Kevin was alone once again.

☾

Another week passed like this, and then a month. Kevin left Abby’s less and less, but he still made an effort to visit Neil and Andrew, though he wasn’t sure how much they appreciated it. He and Neil sometimes stayed up into the early hours of the morning talking about nothing and everything. He felt happy; he felt known. 

He learned that Neil was still passionate about the same things as Kevin if he was comfortable enough, and that Andrew was addicted to candy. He learned that Palmetto’s protection of its residents was not supposed to be very strong; Andrew strengthened the wards. Phones didn’t work inside the town borders because Andrew didn’t want them to. He learned that Neil and Andrew watched out for each other viciously, and if you lay a hand on one, you lay a hand on both. 

He was drawn to Neil most of all. His fiery red hair made an appearance in Kevin’s dreams between the horribly violent nightmares. Neil was smart and sharp-witted and funny and Kevin felt like a human being in his presence. 

He also learned that Neil did not like being around alcohol. 

Dan was throwing a surprise birthday party for Matt, and she had clarified that there would be no drinking. When Kevin asked Neil why, he explained, “Matt’s my best friend and he knows I wouldn’t have fun if everyone was drunk.” 

Kevin frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t like alcohol, I guess.” This was said with a shrug and a disinterested look at the ground, which meant Kevin hit a sore spot. 

“Why not?”

“Watch it, Kev,” Andrew snarled. He wasn’t participating in the conversation; he was less overprotective now that he knew Kevin probably wasn’t going to kill Neil, and therefore less interested in Kevin at all. He had been curled up on the sofa, reading something on his Kindle while Kevin and Neil sat at the dinner table. Maybe his pointy ears afforded him super-hearing. 

“Why do you like drinking so much?” Neil demanded. 

“It makes me forget,” Kevin replied honestly. 

Neil stared at some faraway point behind Kevin’s head. “It makes me remember.”

Kevin didn’t press anymore after that, but he did think twice the next time he got drunk. Neil’s words didn’t stop him, of course, but he _ considered _ staying sober, which was probably enough.

One day, after Kevin awoke from a particular terrible nightmare, Neil knocked on the door of Abby’s house. When Kevin was the one to answer the door, he smiled. Something in Kevin’s chest twisted.

“Andrew’s with Betsy, and I’m bored. Let’s go to the park.” 

Kevin nodded. “Let me get dressed. Who’s Betsy?”

Neil followed Kevin inside. “She’s his therapist. She’s everyone’s therapist here, but her and Andrew are really close. You could probably benefit from a visit.” 

“Says you,” Kevin retorted, because he knew for a fact Neil refused to see Betsy. “What’s in the park?”

Neil shrugged. “Grass. Trees, probably.”

“Very helpful, thanks. I mean, is there anything interesting there? What’s the history?”

“You fucking nerd,” Neil said fondly. Kevin’s chest did a weird twist again, and he smiled to himself. Neil waited while Kevin got dressed. He refused to feel embarrassed about how long it took with his hand; it was a lot better now, more than a month after Riko shattered it, but it wasn’t great. Neil didn’t complain about Kevin taking too long, though, so it was alright. 

The trees in the park were still orange, yellow, and red. None had fallen yet, though Kevin was beginning to accept that there were some oddities about Palmetto that weren’t to be questioned. (One time he had tried to make a bulletin board filled with notes and newspaper clippings and his own research about the town, but it had reminded him so much of Riko and Evermore that he had a panic attack so terrible Abby had to be called home from work when Neil found Kevin on the ground.)

“What do you want from us, Kevin?” Neil asked suddenly. “From the town?” 

Kevin stopped in his tracks. “I don’t know. Someplace safe.” 

“It’s not very safe for you, though, is it? You keep seeing people from your past. They keep hurting you.” Neil kept walking, so Kevin ran for a few seconds to catch up with him. 

“I don’t understand.” Was Neil trying to get him to leave?

“Of course you don’t.” He sighed to himself, and abruptly changed the topic. “You were having a nightmare before, right?”

“How do you know that?” Kevin was sure he hadn’t mentioned it. 

“Oh, you know,” Neil said vaguely. “What was it about?” 

“Jean,” Kevin answered. “Riko hurting him.” Kevin, eventually, had told Neil about his past. Andrew, too, and it surprised him how much he trusted the both of them. 

“What are you going to do about it?” Neil asked. Kevin felt distinctly interrogated. 

Kevin shrugged. “Drink. Ignore it. Whatever.” 

Neil frowned. “I want to go home.” The frown looked delicate on his face, Kevin _ wanted. _ He didn’t know what he wanted, but the feeling was undeniable. 

He said, “Okay.” 

☾

Andrew and Kevin were playing video games at the cottage when it happened. Kevin kept dying. He wasn't paying much attention to the game because Neil was in the middle of a long-winded explanation about the dream he had the night before in which Kevin and Allison were in the middle of a painful divorce. He must have died on the game, because there was a loud noise, and suddenly Kevin was in Evermore.

He didn’t _ feel _ like he was in Evermore. The room around him was all black, and Riko paced along one wall. He didn’t see Tetsuji, but the menacing _ clack _ of the cane sounded methodically like the _ tick-tock _ of a clock. Abruptly, Riko turned on him. Kevin couldn’t decipher Riko was saying over the pounding in his ears, but even the sound of his voice made his breathing quicken. He expected it to go away after a few seconds, but it didn’t; he was still in Evermore and Riko was still screaming at him. Tetsuji opened the door to their room and Kevin felt something inside him break; he wanted it all to _ stop. _

The darkness fell away, revealing Neil standing over him, hands outstretched but not quite touching. Kevin leaned forward and Neil closed the distance between them, enveloping him in a very cold hug. Kevin sniffled into Neil’s sweaters. “I was back,” he whispered into the fabric. “I was back in Evermore and they were there and I don’t know what to do.” 

“You do know what to do,” Neil argued. He ran his fingers through Kevin’s hair repetitively. “You know exactly what to do.” 

Kevin realized at that moment that he had never told Neil that Wymack was his father, so he said, “I want to see my dad. Wymack.” Then, in a smaller voice, “Will you come with me?” 

Neil nods. “Of course.”

In an even smaller voice, Kevin asked, “Can we just stay like this for a while first?”

Instead of answering, Neil curled up on the couch beside Kevin and wrapped his arms around him. Kevin cried until there was nothing left, and then Neil helped him off the couch. It felt like his feet were full of lead, but he took the first step, and the second and the third. 

On the walk to Wymack’s house, Neil was shivering, so Kevin gave him his sweater. It was adorably huge on him. Kevin didn’t know where that thought came from, but he liked the sweater and he liked Neil and he liked his sweater on Neil. Would it be weird if he told Neil to keep it?

Wymack greeted them with a smile, but it quickly dissipated once he saw Kevin’s tear-streaked face. “Come on in, son.” 

☾

The alcohol in Abby’s house was disposed of and an appointment with Betsy was set up. Kevin had a standing invitation to Wymack’s whenever he wanted and a father who cared about him. He wasn’t excited to see Betsy, but he was cautiously looking forward to not having the actual ghosts of his past jump out at him every day. 

He and Neil ended up sleeping at Wymack’s that night. Kevin had insisted that Neil could go home, but he refused. Neil slept on the floor while Kevin took the sofa. Even sleeping two feet apart felt much too far of a distance. 

They walked home together the next morning. Neil was still wearing Kevin’s hoodie, which he only remembered when Nicky, who was walking with Renee on the other side of the street, crowed, “So you two finally boned?!” 

Neil rugged on Kevin’s sleeve and walked faster. Nicky protested, but once they were out of earshot, Neil said, “Nicky is an idiot.”

But the wheels in Kevin’s mind were already turning. “What if I want to?”

Neil barked out a laugh. “Bone me?”

Kevin shook his head. “No. Well – what if I like you? What if I want to kiss you?” They turned onto Abby’s driveway, but Kevin stopped him before they went inside. “Well?”

Neil thought for a moment. “I might want to kiss you. But I might never want to bone you.”

“That’s fine.”

“Ever.”

“That’s fine, Neil.” Kevin sighed with frustration. “Will you just come inside?”

They settled on Kevin’s bed in his room, seeing as Abby and Betsy were sitting in the living room. Kevin felt awkward sitting on his bed with Neil, but Neil appeared to have no such qualms. 

“Well?” Neil asked, echoing Kevin from earlier. 

Kevin looked at Neil’s beautiful eyes, his impossible red hair, his sharp cheekbones and delicate wrists. He looked at his soft lips and strong shoulders. He asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Neil said, “Yes.”

Neil’s lips tasted like everything; like fresh air on a cool day, like the sweetest honey on Earth, like a lick of salt. Like Neil. Kevin could die like this and be happy.

They laid together in Kevin’s bed for the rest of the day, emerging only for food. Kevin fell asleep, once, and woke up screaming from a nightmare, but he didn’t care; he had a support system to catch him if he fell. He had Abby and Wymack and Neil and Andrew.

He had family.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, kudos, etc. My tumblr is carterchilcott.tumblr.com. Tell me what you thought!
> 
> I wanted to include Kevin’s issues with alcohol more but drinking makes me incredibly uncomfortable and I didn’t want to write about it in detail so forgive me if that particular part didn’t get the detail it deserved.


End file.
